The 500'th Anniversary
by starlinc
Summary: The 500'th anniversary of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is nearly here. 1'st of 3 "thrice defied" from prophecy. The Marauders Era, A Lily/James fic, with Remus/OC, Sirius/OC, Peter/mary, and a few other OC pairings thrown in. Enjoy!
1. Ain't Love Grand?

Author's Note: I really hope you like this. I think it's rather good, and I hope you feel the same!

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This is a Lily/James fic, but it also has the major Sirius/OC couple, and a few other minor ones. This chapter, and the next, aren't majorly Lily/James, but the third chapter is focused on them. So if your upset at the seemingly inaccurate summary, I do get there. It's just the Sirius/OC one is where I had some inspiration, so that's just the one I started with.

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"James," Sirius whined. "Help!"

"Sorry mate, your on your own. I have to help myself right now." James appeared to be staring off into the distance, but to Remus and Sirius, it was obvious what he was really looking at. Sure enough, Lily Evans was sitting at the table adjacent to theirs, tying her fiery hair into a messy bun while laughing at something her friend was saying.

However, to Sirius, it was her friend Emily Potter was the one who was worth staring at.

"James!" Sirius hissed. "Do I need to bring up exactly what you say in your sleep?" James turned pale, and faced Sirius.

"What do you need?"

"A date!"

"A date?" James asked, skeptical. "For what?"

"The dance!" Sirius whispered.

"The dance? Oh. Yeah." It was the 500'th anniversary of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And of course, teachers made a big deal out of it. Sirius honestly didn't care. It was an excuse to get a date, and possibly a good snog. James happened to think it could be something special for him and Lily, but Sirius, despite his name, was not one to behave with such an emotion in mind.

"Yeah. And I need a DATE!"

"Yeah, uh-huh." James was already back in his own little word of Lily flowers and "hott" red-heads.

"James! Oh, whatever!"

Sirius stalked moodily down the corridor by the Great Hall. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice there was someone in front of him until he crashed into Hannah Phoenix.

"Sorry!" he bent down to help her up. Another one of Lily's friends, Hannah was a bit shorter than him, with _long, long_ blond hair and nice chocolate brown eyes. _She's rather decent looking_, he decided.

"It's okay. I wasn't really paying attention either." She smiled up at him as she picked up her last book(Charms).

Before he even knew what he was going to say, the words came out of his mouth, "Do you want to go to the dance with me?" _Ok, this will be good. I can focus on getting over this crush on Emily, and. . .OH, I've also ruined any chance of asking_ her_. Oh. Yeah._Suddenly, Sirius's good mood seemed to evaporate. Oh, well, what could he do now? If he all the sudden changed his mind, Hannah would tell Lily, who would blame and confront James, who would then blame him and complain to him, and _Man_, he had his own problems getting the girl of his dreams, without having to hear James's plots to catch Lily's eye.

Hannah's eyes widened. She face broke into a huge grin. "Really? Yeah, that would be great!"

"Really. OK, great!" He handed her books to her. "I'll see you at six on Wednesday?" They even got to miss classes!

"Yeah!" Hannah waved goodbye and headed to the Great Hall as Sirius went to the dormitories.

"Lily! Em!" Hannah practically skipped over to the table, she was so happy.

"Guess who asked me to go to the dance!"

"Who?"

"Sirius Black!" Lily's eyes widened! She turned to Emily, trying to see her mood, but she was expressionless.

Inside though, Emily could feel her heart sinking. Hannah didn't know that Emily liked Sirius. She needed to be happy for her friend. She forced a smile. "That's great!"

Hannah looked questioningly at Emily for a minute, but, realizing that Em wouldn't say why her cheer seemed so forced, she turned to chatter excitedly with Lily.

Emily breathed a sigh of relief. She really didn't want to have to explain why she was upset. She muttered an excuse, and stood up. Stomping dejectedly up the steps, she mad her way to the Gryffindor Common Room.

She made her way to the tower, and from there, the Girl's dormitories. "Love sucks!" she cried as she threw herself facedown on her bed.

"What did love do to you?"

Emily looked up to see her friend, Alana, coming from the bathroom connected to the Girl's Dormitory. Alana's question was simple enough to an innocent bystander, but to Emily, she might as well been an inmate in an Azkaban prison cell asking her what she was in jail for. She threw her head down onto her bed. Muffled by her pillow, Alana could just make out Emily saying "A lot!"

"Well, I think love isn't so bad."

"Yeah, let me guess," Emily said sarcastically, lifting her head, "one of the Marauder's asked you to the dance, too."

"Well, yeah."

Taken aback by her being write, Emily forgot to talk with the set amount of cynicism she had been using. "Which one?"

"Remus!" Alana sighed happily.

Emily scrutinized Alana. She was pretty, that was for sure. With long red hair that went way past her waist, nearly to her butt, and clear blue eyes, it was obvious why Remus would ask her. _To bad Sirius doesn't feel the same way about me._

"Oh." Alana sympathetically nodded.

"Sirius?" she asked in a knowing voice.

"Asked Hannah just now!"

Alana winced for her friend. "Em, come on. Ask somebody else. HE isn't worth it."

"Yeah, your right!" Emily stood up, nodding slowly.

"Of course!" Alana rolled her eyes in exaggerated obnoxiousness. Emily laughed faintly at her friends hyper, and more often than not excessively perky nature.

She smiled at Emily, seizing her hand to pull her all the way down to the Great Hall, where the source of the problem, Sirius, was.

As Emily shut the door behind them while being dragged down the stairs, Alana's laughing voice called up to her.

"Ain't Love Grand?"

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I had to end the chapter on a whimsical note. I hope you liked The chapter a lot! Please review, it is really appreciated!


	2. Jealous Questions

"Merlin help you Alana, if you do make me go see him!" Emily growled at her her friend, while digging her heels into the stone steps. Unfortunately, this made her trip, and fall down the stairs. Landing with a soft "Oomph!" (a well placed cushioning charm from Alana), she sighed. Knowing better than to lay there where Alana could get her, she ran down the stairs.

_Dang!_ Emily thought. _Down? Down? I need to go up! Down is where Sirius is!_ Alana was chasing her! _OK, run past her!_ She tried to turn, but her foot slipped, and down the stairs again she went. She managed to fall just right that she was going several floors down, not just tumbling down a single flight of steps.

Just before what would have been a sickening splat, and 'bye-'bye Emily, a certain strong dark haired Marauder caught her. . . .

"Hey." Sirius said softly, looking down at Emily. Shaking his head as if to clear it, he grinned. "You know, falling for a guy isn't meant to be literal!"

Scoffing at the corny one-liner, Alana came flying down the stairs. "Holy hippogriffs, are you OK?"

"I, uh, uh," Emily also coming to her senses, removed herself from her awkward position in Sirius's arms, "yeah!"

Alana smirked. "Mm-hmm."

Remus and Peter came rushing in. Alana smiled at Remus. He shyly smiled back, than turned towards Emily.

"Are you okay?" Peter gasped, frightened. "We should take her to the Hospital Wing!"

Em was to busy staring at Sirius to really register what Peter was saying. luckily, she didn't have to respond, as Hannah burst into the Grand Staircase room just after he said that.

"Hi Emily! Hi Alana!" Hannah stepped a little closer to Sirius, smiling, insanely happy.

Alana muttered a quite, "Hello," not daring to meet Emily's eye.She knew Emily was already feeling spiteful, and Hannah was just putting herself in the line of fire just getting within a miles distance of her.

"Hey." Emily said coldly.

Hannah's smile flickered for a moment, than shot right back up as she asked Emily if she was okay.

"Peachy. At least as soon as I ask someone to the dance." Emily smiled, she wanted revenge, and here it was.

"Hey, Peter?"

"Ye-ye-yes, Emily?"

"Would you like to go to the dance with me?"

"M-m-m-m-me? Ye-yes, absol-sol-solutely!"

"Sweet."

Emily walked calmly up the stairs, all the rest staring at her back in disbelief. She didn't dare look back over her shoulder at Sirius.

But if she had, she would have seen Sirius's face thick with jealousy and a murderous glare in Peter's general direction. Thankfully for Sirius, Hannah also missed his infuriated expression.

A few minutes later, Lily and James came in, Lily with an annoyed expression, and James with a more dejected look. "What did we miss?" James asked. Alana shook her head, and followed Emily's footsteps, this time dragging Remus behind her.

"A lot!" Remus didn't even bother trying to pry off Alana's death-grip on his wrist.

"Em?" Alana asked, looking out one of the windows in the Girl's dormitory. As she suspected, Emily was sitting on the balcony roughly a seven foot drop beneath the window. Emily had discovered it in second year. Alana knew it was one of Emily's favorite places to think or just hang out by herself, so Alana rarely went there, and hadn't told the other girls it was there, and they hadn't figured it out. Except for Lily, of course. Lily knew. But like Alana, she had decided to give her best friend some privacy.

However, Alana needed to talk. And she was not going to hang out a window. She was swung out off the window sill, landing softly(a charm, placed by a previous Hogwarts student, Alana guessed, made the jump, and climb, possible for a single person) onto the stone. "Emily."

Emily said nothing. Alana waited.

Finally Emily said in an uncharacteristically high voice, "Yes, Alana?"

"Why did you ask Peter to the dance?" Alana exploded. "Merlin's pants, I know you wanted to make Sirius jealous, but Peter?? Emily, you are an idiot! Hannah likes that Hufflepuff, Derick Weasley! The one she is always talking about! She said yes to Sirius because she doesn't think that Derick likes her! Not to mention poor Peter! Your just using him to make Sirius jealous! Uggh, you are so thick!" She broke off, breathing heavily, fists clenched.

Emily sat dumbstruck throughout Alana's rant. Viewing Alana's flashing eyes, her mouth formed an O-shape and she closed it, realizing she must look like an idiot with her mouth hanging open. "I can't do anything now. I can't just say 'Sorry, I changed my mind' to Peter. I'd break the poor guy's heart," she said, quietly.

Alana looked at her spitefully. "GO! You can, no, You _need_ to try and clean up this mess!"

Alana left Emily sitting on the balcony alone. Emily sat there, in awe of her friend's temper, and wallowing in guilt. However, then, Remus came. _Not another lecture!_ Emily thought.

Remus sat next to her. "I know you'd rather go with Sirius, but-"

"I know," Emily interrupted. "I can't do that to Peter. Or Hannah." Even though Hannah really wanted to go with Derick, she'd still be betraying her friend, whether she really liked him or not.

Relieved he didn't have to tell her that, Remus sighed. "Yeah."

"Thanks for being such a good friend. To Peter, to Sirius, to Hannah. . . and to me. But just remember, be nice to Alana, or I'll hex you so bad your own mother won't recognize you. Same goes for Lily and Hannah with James and Sirius." Emily told him with a straight face, standing up.

They headed down to the Great Hall together. Breakfast was long over, so the Grounds were the most likely thing, as it was a beautiful day out, just after the Easter Holidays.

Outside they joined the Marauders and the girls. Alana smiled at Emily, her anger forgotten. Remus went over to her. She widened her eyes slightly in questioning. He gave the slightest nod. None of this was missed by Emily, but she chose to ignore it for the time being.

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Okay, there you go, another chapter. **_Next chapter has Lily/James in it!!_**


	3. Discussing Love Potions

Back in the Grand Staircase room, Before they had all met back at the Grounds, to be later joined by Alana, Remus, and Emily, Peter had already left, dazed that a girl, much less a girl like Emily, who had already been secretly proclaimed by the Marauders as one of the 'Top Ten Hogwarts Hotties'.

Hannah had left for the Library, muttering to herself about Emily, Sirius, Peter, and Derick.

Sirius however, got to be left behind with a off-put looking James and a furious Lily. "OK, I can see you two have something you two need to talk about, a discussion of some sort, I guess. So. . . um. . . BYE!" Sirius took off running down the corridor leading to the Great Hall. As an afterthought, he skidded to a halt, and shouted over his shoulder "Good luck, Jamesie!" He ran off again, eager to put as much distance between Lily's temper and him as possible.

Lily was shooting death glares at James. She remembered her and James's conversation after Emily had left the Great Hall. It had been one of their usual. What followed, had been something she hadn't expected.

**_(flashback)_**

**_"Hey, Evans?" James called from his table._**

**_Lily rolled her eyes. "What now, Potter?"_**

**_"Want to go to the Ball with me?" He asked hopefully._**

**_"Hmm, let me think. . . NO!" He was seriously asking her again? After all the time's she'd said no? Wow, how stubborn was he? Or just arrogant?_**

**_"Why not? Come on Evans! Please? With a chocolate frog on top?"_**

**_Lily felt slightly flattered at James's whining plea. "Because you're an arrogant toe-rag Potter!" She couldn't help but notice that she said the usual insults with a lot less heart than normal. Maybe she should give him a chance. . . ._**

**_James had a hurt expression on his face. Lily felt a twinge of guilt at her realization that for once he wasn't faking the expression to dramatize the situation and get attention. He actually felt hurt._**

**_He went back to talking with Sirius, who appeared rather sympathetic to James. "Better luck next time, mate." He said, putting a hand on James's shoulder._**

**_They began talking quietly between themselves. Lily watched, her guilt growing until she stood up slowly, planning on asking James to the dance. But as she got closer, she heard Sirius say, "Love potion, James? Do you think that might work? No, I wouldn't go that far."_**

**_He said something else, that to Lily, sounded frighteningly similar to "If I was you."_**

**_Could they really be talking about using a love potion on her? And she was going to ask him to the dance because she felt bad. She felt so gullible to fall form his usual ploy. At least Sirius had the common sense to realize that if he put himself in James's situation, that it would be a stupid idea. But Potter. . . ._**

**_Sirius and James looked up just in time to see Lily standing over them, her guilty expression quickly turning into that of a highly pissed-off witch, and one who had a good enough behavioral track record to cast enough jinxes at them to make them unrecognizable without getting so much as a detention._**

**_Sirius looked considerably guilty, but James just looked looked surprised._**

**_(end of flashback)_**

Lily shook her head. After that, however, Hannah had seized Sirius's hand, dragging him to the Grand Staircase. James shrugged, following, and of course Peter followed his great and all-powerful leader, the all-mighty James Potter. Lily, not willing to let their discussion slide so easily, hurried after, and Remus followed, ever willing to give words of wisdom to the irritated Lily, as he had on so many other occasions. She and James had been delayed again though, while the others went on ahead, as he had the audacity to ask her again, several times.

Allowing herself a moment to breath in her enraged state before clearing away the memory, Lily faced James. However, James was still in his thoughts concerning his version of the said memory.

**_James began to talk with Sirius, feeling rather dejected that Lily had, once again, said no to a date._**

**_Sirius was sympathetic, but quickly turned the attention to his own problem at hand. He couldn't believe that Emily had asked Peter, of all people. "But then again," James pointed out. "You did ask Hannah first, mate"_**

**_Sirius scoffed at this. James was supposed to be on his side!_**

**_"Love potion, James? Do you think that might work?" He wished that getting Emily to go to the dace with him could be that simple. But he liked Emily. She wasn't like the other girls at Hogwarts. He just couldn't use a love potion on her. "No, I wouldn't go that far." He imagined Emily's smiling face, surrounded by the blue streaked curtain of black hair. "Even if I like you," he added quietly to himself._**

**_He and James looked up just in time to see Lily standing over them, incensed. Sirius swallowed guiltily, calculating just how he'd look when she was done with him. Especially after hearing him consider using a love potion on her best friend! James just felt shock at their conversation being overheard._**

James had no idea that Lily had thought she had overheard something about _her_, that was definitely more incriminating to_ him_.

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Hannah, meanwhile, was sitting in the library, blankly looking at her potions book, not even really realizing there was anything in front of her. She too was deep in thought._ So I like Derrick_, she thought. She nodded sub-consciously._ That much I know._Now, she was beginning to see that Emily at least had some sort of feeling towards Sirius. _Does Sirius like her?_ Hannah thought. _It's a definite that Peter likes Emily. But probably not Emily-Emily. Probably just being asked out by a girl like Emily._

_Sirius probably doesn't really like me either. He _must_ like Emily._Strangely, this news didn't make her sad. Emily hadn't asked Sirius out. She'd asked Peter. Because friendship meant more to her. _I don't like Sirius. I like Derrick. Emily doesn't like Peter. She likes Sirius. And Sirius doesn't like me. He likes _her_._

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Lily exploded.

"What the _HELL_ were you thinking?! Even _considering_ using a _love potion_ on me? That's low Potter, even for you!"

"You?" James asked as she broke off her rant to take a breath. "Not _you_! _Emily_! Sirius was thinking of using a love potion on Emily so she might like him back, but he decided not to because he likes her to much to manipulate her." He felt a slight amount of relief. Maybe he wouldn't get jinxed now. . . .

"Oh." Lily said. It all made sense. She hadn't actually heard anything that specifically meant James had done something. She just had interpreted the half of the conversation she'd eavesdropped on that way. The fault was hers.

Now feeling doubly guilty, half for saying no with no good reason, and the other half for falsely accusing James, she decided to do something unprecedented in the history of Lily/James questions. She decided to ask James out on a date. Of a sort.

"Hey, Potter?" She said, a tone shyer than normal.

"Yeah? What? Are you going to yell at me more?" James asked, tiredly. By the time the uncharacteristic tone in her voice had registered in his brain, she had begun to speak again.

"No." _Can you blame him for thinking that?_ asked a snide little voice in her head._ Why wouldn't he? Do you ever give him a reason not to think that? No_, her much larger, much smarter, and much more optimistic part retorted. _But I'm about to._ Mentally shoving the voice out of her head, she asked quickly "Willyougototheballwithme?"

James scrunched up his nose. "Huh?"

Expression apologetic, she repeated. "Will you go to the ball with me?" he was considerably slower this time, and James understood the question.

James stared at Lily's earnest expression, hardly believing she wanted him to go to the dance with her, especially after saying no to him.

"Is this a joke?" He asked, not quite over the fact she was asking him now after rejecting him when he asked.

"No, I just feel bad I said no without a decent reason."

"Oh." He felt like he could believe her. And if she was doing this to be nice because she felt bad. . . . "Yeah. Sure." He said. He began walking backwards in the direction of the stairs. What time? "How's six on the day of the dance?" he continued walking backwards until he accidentally tripped on the stair behind him. Catching his balance quickly, he looked up to see Lily concealing a smile at his momentary stumble.

Biting her lower lip to keep herself from smiling, she said, "Perfect." He smiled.

"Cool, great!" He gave an awkward wave. "See ya then!" He turned around and ran up the stairs, two at a time.

Lily waved at his retreating figure, repeating softly, "See you then. . . James."

Later on the grounds, Lily was sitting on the grass by the lake. Sirius was sitting nearby, having already had a shouting at from Lily about the un-ethical-ness of even thinking of using love potions on people. Especially in his situation! He had asked Hannah to the dance, and then when Emily, who he had wanted to ask to the dance, asked Peter, he plays the scorned-and-jealous male!

Peter and Hannah were also sitting near Sirius, Peter still dazed and Hannah happy, as she and Sirius took turns using a particularly long stick to poke a stray tentacle of the Giant Squid. James was sitting next to Lily, playing with her long hair as she laughed at Sirius and Hannah's antics.

Lily caught sight of Alana. As Alana approached, Lily exclaimed excitedly, "Guess who I'm going to the dance with!"

Seeing James's arm around Lily, Alana said sarcastically, "Hmm, I don't know. . . can I have a hint?" Her and Lily laughed together. Soon Emily and Remus came over. Repeating the news to them, they both smiled, happy for their friends.

Emily lay on her stomach in her four poster bed, staring the latest copy of the _Daily Prophet_. She, like Hannah earlier, was to caught up in her thoughts to pay the slightest bit of attention to the reading material in front of her, in Emily's case, the wizarding newspaper. Her thoughts were more preoccupied with Sirius. She picked up the _Prophet_, and threw it across the room angrily.

Rolling over on her back and seizing the stuffed Quaffle she had, she began throwing it at the top of her four-poster. Throw, catch, throw, catch. She had told Remus and Alana that she wouldn't risk Hannah's friendship, or both Peter and Hannah's feelings. And she was going to try and stick to that.

She left her mind drift, though keeping it firmly away from the thought of Sirius. She thought back to a few hours previous. The meaningful looks Alana and Remus were sharing spelled a plot. And Em had a feeling that it had something to do with her.

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Unknown to Emily, Alana and Remus were at that very moment down in the common room, also discussing how that same pot. "We need to get them together at the dance. They're out friends." Remus said firmly. Alana gazed at fire, her features shadowed with it's warm glow as the only light.

"I know. We need someone else's help." Alana told Remus as the flames holding her attention flickered.

* * *

Unknown to _them_, Hannah had currently just managed to corner Derick outside the Charms classroom. "What Hannah?" Derick asked confused.

"I need your help with something."


	4. The Nightmare

Emily opened her eyes blearily. Where in Dumbledore's name am I?

It was a rather good question, considering her surroundings were covered in a thick fog, leaving only a few trees around her location(she'd guess a clearing in the woods) discernible through the haze.

"Alana? Hannah? Lily? Sirius? Is this some sort of joke?" "Joke?" "Joke?" "Joke?" Her question echoed through the dense eerie haze. An insane giggle sounded behind her. "What the hell?" she muttered to herself, this time calling forth no echo. She slowly circled, staying in the same spot in the middle of the clearing.

A drop of something wet landed on her hand. Was she crying? Another drop. . . and another. . . and another. She looked up. It had begun to snow, of all things.

She stared at the soft white flakes in wonder, as they coated the ground in a blanket of the same colorless icy sheen. She started to shiver, for even in this strange place the snow was cold. She wasn't even wearing a jacket. She was still wearing the muggle jeans and T-shirt she'd been wearing the whole day.

No sooner had she shivered then the same loud cackle sounded again behind her. She whipped around, searching the fog and few visible trees, but nothing revealed itself. Then the laugh was behind her. Whirling, she once again caught nothing, even in her peripheral vision. She sighed, frustrated.

"Who are you? What are you?!" she screamed. The creepy laughter was now to her left, no, it was behind her, no, it was to her right, no. . . it was right in front of her. She, for the first time, saw a weird sort of blurry shadow before tripping and falling backwards. She scrambled up, as the cackle sounded again and again, keeping her constantly twirling and spinning around to try and get another glimpse of it. Whatever it was, it wasn't human. Nothing human, or even. . . natural. . . could move that fast.

She finally spun around, 180 degrees, for it had been behind her again. She stumbled again, and for the second time that day, found herself being caught from a rather un-fun fall by Sirius Black. He helped her into a standing position again.

"You okay?" Sirius said, eyes worried.

"Yeah. . . . Where did it go? Sirius, where did it go?"

"What? Where did what go? I found myself somewhere over there, and I worked my way through the fog and saw you fall. This stuff isn't normal is it, Em? Em? Em?"

Emily had seen something Sirius hadn't. There it was again, the shadow. She didn't know what it was, but it was bad. Very bad. "It's back!" She grabbed his hand. "Run!" Together they sprinted through the mist, aware that whatever the shadow was, it was chasing them, and probably gaining on them, too.

And so it was. It whipped past them, as a gust of wind. Emily fell, hit her head, and a sharp pain went through her head. She was aware of Sirius shaking her, and then her vision swam.

"Em? Em? Emily?!"

She shook her head til her vision cleared. "I'm fine," she said, sitting up. She lifted her hand to press it to her throbbing skull. "Where did it go? Is it still following us. . . ."

She trailed off as she realized that she and Sirius were now in their otherwise empty Gryffindor Common Room.

"What?" Sirius questioned her, confusion etched into his face.

"Never you mind about that," she snapped, her anger from earlier settling in once again. Sirius pulled back the arm he had still on her shoulder from shaking her awake. Noticing the wounded expression on his face, she relented. "I'm sorry, it was. . . . It must have been a nightmare."

"Some nightmare." Sirius was sympathetic. "You want to talk about it?" Emily felt a rush of affection towards her friend at his concern, despite the fact she'd just been rude when he'd been trying to help.

"I'm good." she started to say, but she stopped herself just as her mouth opened. Then, instead, came a stream of words telling him all about the nightmare, and how she'd felt like she was going mad as she circled around and around trying to see the shadow, all the while terrified, not even realizing it was a nightmare.

After finishing, she just let Sirius haul her up onto the couch sh guessed she must have fallen off after falling asleep. . . . Hence the blurry vision. She sat there for a good long time, staring into the dieing fire. She picked up the copy of the Prophet she had fallen asleep reading. Making as if to throw it into the fire, she was surprised when Sirius stopped her.

"I haven't gotten to read it yet." Wordlessly, she handed the crumpled newspaper to him.

Finally he stood to head to the boy's dormitory, having been convinced she was fine.

"Sirius."

He didn't turn to face her, but she saw him stop out of the corner of her eye from her position by the fire. His head turned ever so slightly towards her, and she took that as her cue he was listening. "Thank-you for listening. And coming to check on me."

He nodded, and made his way up the stairs and out of sight. Turning back to the couch, there was one last surprise for Emily.

Her shivering must have been real, because it was unmistakable why Sirius Black had checked on her. There was a blanket on the floor, no doubt thrown off in the nightmare.

She carried the blanket upstairs with her, determined to get a little more sleep before breakfast, once again admiring that he was nice enough to even make sure she wasn't cold.

Emily couldn't help but smile as she traced the "Sirius Black" that was sewn into the upper left corner one last time before succumbing to sleep.


	5. In the Corridors

Emily finally fell asleep under Sirius's quilt, no more nightmares occurring. However, when she awoke the next day, she wouldn't be able to help the worried feeling in the pit of her stomach as she thought back to the shadow.

* * *

Lily waited until she heard Emily's breathing slow. She knew Emily had fallen asleep downstairs, and she didn't dare walk past the sleeping girl. In the dormitory, however, Lily's bed was closest to the door. Just to be sure, she listened again for Alice's soft snores, and Hannah's tossing and turning, which come hours ago. Alana's bed was silent, but that wasn't unusual. Lily just figured that Alana used up all her noisy-ness during the day.

She crept down the stairs, cursing as one of the floorboards creaked. Lily paused again to marvel that the founders had even thought so thoroughly of the dormitory's comfortableness that they had built the Gryffindor dormitories and common room with soft wooden floors, rather than the hard, cold stone surroundings.

She tiptoed carefully the rest of the way. James was waiting for her in the common room. After taking note of perturbed expression, she said sternly, "Walk ONLY, right? No tricks, no pranks, NO SNOGGING?"

"No, of course not!" James said indignantly.

Lily sighed. "What's wrong, Potter?" Waiting expectantly, she watched as his expression turned from annoyance, past worry, and, after several others, a look of resignation. "Come with me." He grabbed he hand and pulled her out of the common room. The Fat Lady loudly questioned James and Lily until they were several corridors away. Breathing heavily, they came to a stop.

"What I'm about to tell you," James panted, "is something that only the other three Marauders know."

Lily snorted. The Marauders told eachother everything, but were always very secretive about what they all planned for once month with everyone else. Possibilities were endless. James sighed, clearly impatient that she was dismissing him so quickly. She shrugged her shoulders apologetically and fixed he face in what she hoped to be a somber and more dignified appearance. Rolling his eyes, James told her "I have an invisibility cloak," in hushed tones.

Lily's eyes widened comically. "What?" she hissed, the quieter version of a screech. James shifted his weight from foot to foot nervously.

"Well, yeah."

"Oh." Lily frowned. "So what's then problem?"

"It's-er-missing. . . ."

"You _lost_ it?!"

James was defensive. "I didn't lose it, per-say. . . ."

"You lost it."

James sighed. "I lost it. But I could swear I put it in my trunk."

Lily shook her head at him. James. What am I going to do with you?"

"Go to the dance with me?"

Lily pushed him gently. "I already said 'Yes' to that, silly!"

"Silly, am I?" James asked, grinning.

Lily nodded, disconcerted. What was with that expression? James took a step towards her and lunged. He began to tickle her mercilessly. Her laughter bounced off the walls, reverberating through the corridor. He laughed loudly along with her, at first a manic "Mwahahahaha" like a villain from a muggle cartoon, and later a genuine chuckle that was music to her ears. Nearly at the same time, they quieted. He looked down at her. Even though they were both seated on the floor, he was still a good three inches taller. He leaned forward, intending to kiss her. Lily's heart pounded, and she didn't protest.

Just before they could kiss,the shrill yowl of Mrs. Norris rang out. James ran his fingers through his hair. Lily swore. "Damnit!" James helped he up and together they ran once again.

Running to a far away abandoned classroom, they grinned in triumph at eachother. Please note, the mood they had in that hallway hadn't ebbed way in the slightest.

Putting his ear to the door, James sighed with relief. "They're gone!"

Lily watched as he finger-combed his hair, again. Though she used to think it was obnoxious, now his habit seemed endearing. Deciding to tease him a little, she stepped towards him. Leaning forwards to whisper in his ear, she murmured, "A kiss? Rather forward, don't you think, Potter? No answer? Another night, then. The dance would provide a lovely opportunity, don't you think? A nice slow dance, all those couples. One little kiss would hardly get noticed."

Brushing past him, she smiled, knowing his eyes would follow.

James stood for several minutes. A sudden creak made him jump and turn to the sound. Seeing nothing, he turned once again to the door. But out of the corner of his eye. . . . He did a double take. Seeing nothing for then second time in a row, he shook his head.

"I could have sworn I saw. . . ." he trailed off and left reluctantly.

* * *

"Idiot!" Alana berated as she reappeared. "He saw us for a second there!"

"How was I supposed to know they would sneak out and come to this particular classroom?!" Remus shot back.

"I don't know! Why don't we just tell Lily and James that we're trying to get Sirius and Emily together together, anyway?"

"Yeah, sure, let's do that. You'll have to carry on without me though, because I have no idea if I'd make it out or not if James found out I stole his invisibility cloak to help in this . . . plan."

Alana rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Now lets go, I need some sleep."

* * *

Did you like it? I hope so!!


	6. A Day in the Life of the Gryffindor Gals

_A/N: I asked my friend if she thought I should get to the dance already, or stretch the story out, she said to make the story bigger, so I fit in this lighter fluffy chapter. It's also shorter than I wanted it, but I wanted to get one up for all you very patient readers! Enjoy!_

* * *

**Morning:** Alana bent over Emily, contemplating. How to do this? She could use the auguamenti charm. . . or perhaps just shoving her off the bed would be funny? Hmm. . . .

Emily was furious. She had been "innocently" sleeping, minding her own buisness, when splash! she woke up completly drenched in water. "ALANA!"

Said person, popped innocently out of the bathroom. "Yes?" Alana asked sweetly.

**Classes, before lunch:** Uggh, few things didn't annoy 7'th years, but of all the cruel and unusual things professors make us do. . . inequalities? Arithmancy is evil.

**Lunch:** "Lily my sweet! I shall slay the beast to win fair maidens heart?" James cried from the Gryffindor table, catching the attention of everyone in the Great Hall. He turned a breadstick towards Sirius and began furiously whacking him with it.

**Classes, after Lunch:** Hannah sighed greatfully. Potions. What could go wrong?

Sirius came from the infirmary, whining about all his bruises.

"Besides Jamesie," he said, "I wasn't the beast you have to battle. She's over there." He pointed at Lily.

"Uggh!" She shoved him into Emily's vomit-colored healing draught

_A/N: I'm worried for him. How about you?_

and he promptly broke out in flower(pink and dainty looking flowers)-covered boils.

**After Dinner:**

_Alana's Point of View_

Make out with my boyfriend.


	7. Dress Shopping

"Come on, Em!" Lily knocked on the bathroom door. "You can't stay in there forever! Shopping is FUN!"

Emily sighed. She unlocked the door and peeked out. "Do I have to wear a _dress_?"

Alana interrupted her two friends, pushing her way through the mass of Hogsmeade potential outfits. "Yes. Absolutely. Dress is a must."

Alana grabbed Emily's arm firmly and pulled her out from behind the door. "You're going." And so it was final.

* * *

Emily sighed as she pushed through the racks and racks of seemingly endless dresses. They all looked the same to her, slutty, stupid, and expensive. She sighed. She didn't _do_ the dress thing. "Emily! This dress is perfect!" Lily shoved her way past a poor terrified 3'rd year, carrying a tomato red V-neck that Emily already hated with a deep passion just by looking at it.

"Emily, you just _have_ to try this!" Alana ran towards her from the opposite direction. The dress in Alana's arm was nicer, and decidedly more tasteful, but the yellow knee length bundle was already, from what Emily could tell, the wrong color. It would be horrible for her hair.

Just before Emily had time to worry if she was going to be crushed by her two friends barreling towards her, both red heads skidded to a stop on either side of their friend, they immediately started shouting at eachother that they had each found the perfect dress.

"No, I did." Alana argued with Lily.

"No, you didn't. _I_did." Lily protested. Emily covered her face with her hands in frustration as her friends shouted at eachother. When the bickering finally quieted, Emily looked up, The two girls stood fuming, locked in a staring contest, neither willing to back down. Seeing Emily was again paying attention, they each began shouting for Emily to tell the other that _their_ dress was better.

Emily held up a finger, signalling them that she was ready to make her declaration. She grimaced, though pleased with the silence. It was better that she could hear herself think. "Alana, that dress is very nice." Alana smirked at Lily. "BUT, it's _yellow_," Emily waved her hair at Alana. Alana made an "o" shape with her mouth, understanding crossing her face.

"Lils," Lily stuck her tongue out at Alana while Emily fingered the siren-reed fabric. "That dress is pretty, but it's too skanky. No offense." Lily pouted as Alana laughed.

As Alana and Lily walked off to find dresses for themselves, Emily turned towards the dress rack. As if by magic, the perfect dress caught her eye.

Discreetly pulling the hanger towards her and heading towards the dressing room, Emily rolled her eyes at the thought of her getting any dress. And wearing it. In public. Eww. No way. Merlin, what were they _thinking_?

She turned quickly, but before she could turn and face the mirror, Alana, Lily, and Hannah's loud voices rushed over her like a bucket of ice(which thanks to Peeves, she unfortunately had experienced).

"Where'd Emily go?" Hannah's question came from the next changing room to her right, and Alana and Lily's speculative answers came from the changing rooms across from her. She threw on her thankfully very long jacket and stepped out. Her jacket had covered her shorts that she'd worn, too, so as long as her jacket was on, they wouldn't be able to tell she'd changed.

"I'm right here."

Her three friends stepped out.

Hannah wore a deep blue dress, Ravenclaw's traditional, yet several shades darker. It was the sky just a half hour or so after the sun went down, when there wasn't stars yet, but all the yellows and pinks from sunset had vanished. It went just above her knees and floated around her when she spun in a circle for everyone to see.

Alana's was white, pale and clear. The dress tied behind her neck, and came down to her ankles. It looked Greek to Emily, or some Mediterranean style. She half expected Alana to be carrying some olive branch or a harp or something else along those lines. It would have been all wrong on Emily, but the style suited Alana.

Hannah, much to Emily's disappointment, noticed Emily's clothes laying on the floor of the changing room through the open door. "Em? Anything you want to show us?" Hannah fought back a smile as she held out her hand for Emily's jacket. Shrugging off her coat, Emily turned to show her friends her choice.

If Hannah's dress had been the sky, than Emily was the sand beneath it, the desert under the sun. It was a peachy, sandy color that went with her tan skin and dark hair wonderfully. Emily smiled shyly as her friends took in the details of it, the body-hugging halter dress. As they had for Hannah and Alana, her friends nodded their approval with happy grins.

Lily was last, but her dress was definitely the best for her. It was forest green, semi-earth mother-ish. Considering her friend's fiery temper, Emily considered, the dress was well suited. Lily bit her lip nervously. "Is it okay? Not to. . . boring?" The dress was sleeveless, and came down to mid-thigh. It went perfectly with Lily's hair, despite her earlier worries. It mad her look like a wood nymph, or some other mythological forest creature.

"Lils, you look _amazing_."

"My cousin is going to fall over his own feet when he sees you." Emily agreed.

Hannah was the one who spoke her definite "Yes" last, only to also point out, "Though since your family tends to have two left feet anyway, so. . . ." while ducking the hanger that Emily then threw at her.


	8. Potatos, Myrtle, and Yeti, Oh My!

Back to Emily/Sirius. Perhaps I should change this to Sirius/OC as opposed to Lily/James. But I'll get there, people. I just am finding more inspiration in that part of the story. Bare with me.

* * *

_Is he taller? He looks taller. Ooh. . . . He's making a paper airplane. Cool. He's tapping his quill. Does he notice that James smudged ink on his forehead? Hey, he's looking at me! Smile. Breath. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Good. Look attractive. Don't stare. It's rude. Ok. He's not looking anymore. *Internal pout*. Why isn't he looking? Am I boring? No way. Must consult Lily later. She'd tell me if I was boring. Right? HE LOOKED AGAIN. . . but now he's not. Oh, who cares? I can stare at him again!_

"Ms. Potter!" McGonnagal's irritated administrator's voice cut through Emily's fantasy. "Next time you want to take a nap, I suggest you do it on your own time. Detention, tonight, 7:00, sharp. Don't be late."

Emily swallowed, trembling. "Yes, professor."

Sirius glanced over James' shoulder, staring at Emily, as usual. Without even realizing it, the potato he was trying to transfigure into a table exploded(not in the fiery way) sending bits of potato mush all over him. "Look at me!" he screeched. "My beautiful hair!!"

McGonnagal pushed him back into his seat firmly with one hand. "Calm yourself, Mr. Black. That is quite enough. Detention for you as well."

The class ended two excruciatingly potato covered minutes later, and Sirius was the first one out of his seat.

A five minute furious scrubbing in the cleanest sink of the nearest bathroom seemed to do the trick. . . . Until Sirius realized that he had accidentally stumbled into a GIRLS' bathroom. And no. Not just any girls' bathroom. Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Hi. Myrtle. Hi."

Myrtle giggled at me. At least she wasn't splashing me with toilet water. "I know you. You're Sirus Black. The girls all talk about you. They say you're a Beast. The cutest boy at Hogwarts."

_Merlin, is Murtle flirting with me?_ It took all Sirius's will power not to gag/projectile vomit.

However, his curiosity took over. He couldn't help but ask tentatively, "You said ALL girls? What about this one in particular? Black hair, medium height, gorgeous, goes by the name of Emily?"

"**CHEATING** on me?!" Myrtle shrieked. She dove.

Sirius made a run for the door, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid the whole wave. So much for not getting wet.

On his way to his next class, Sirius passed Emily. She reached over. "You have bits of potato in your hair, Sirius." She said pleasantly pulling one out.

He smiled and thanked her, grateful not all the females at Hogwarts were completely and utterly INSANE! "So," he tried to strike up a conversation. "I guess we have detention together tonight."

She tightened her grip on her books nervously as they walked, eyes cast down. "Yeah. I guess so." Than, brightening, she nudged him with her shoulder. "Couple of rebels, huh?"

He grinned. "Yeah. That's us." They walked the rest of the way to Care of Magical Creatures in a comfortable silence, knowing from experience that it was likely that the next hour wouldn't be so peaceful.

* * *

Sure enough, as soon as they got to Care of Magical Creatures, they found out they were today dealing with something that seemed to stand out against the bright and sunny day. Yeti.

Lily, always one for maintaining her calm and patience, was surprisingly the first one to get frustrated with her lack of progress in communicating with her snowy white Yeti.

Unfortunately, out of Lily's line of sight, Lucius Malfoy was not having such troubles. But however peaceful and kind Yeti were, like the hippogriffs his son had annoyed in a similar situation, they were easily offended, and Lucius, very antagonizing. He had insulted his Yeti, and the Yeti was mad. But Lucius Malfoy was not without a plan. He side stepped the charging Yeti, who unable to stop himself in time, was going to crash in to an unsuspecting Lily.

Another factor in the equation was James. Having been, as usual, staring at Lily, he couldn't help but notice the giant furry white blur speeding towards her. He ran, towards her

_A/N: I can hear the music right now, can't you? The dun-dun-dun, will he make it in time?, good, classic suspense stuff. He's probably in slow motion, too. But come on people. Does Lils really strike you as a damsel in distress?_

and knocked her off to the side, and the Yeti(who's name is Harriet, by the way. Don't know why. it was the first name to pop into my head. Other than Billy Bob Joe, of course. But the Yeti(this one at least) is female) barreled on past.

But very little of that registered in James' brain right now. Because Lily was within a foot of him. And he's just saved her life. Or at least, he's saved her from some bruises and a few broken bones.

Lily was annoyed at the guy with the messy-in-an-effortless-way-that-is-really-hot hair. She, having much more focus than James, had seen the Yeti who had just passed them by. She knew that he had just helped her out, and if she didn't think of something to distract him, quick, he'd remember this at a later point, and she'd never hear the end of how he had protected her, the dainty princess. But he was really cute. She wanted to tell him to kiss her, but her sane side won out, so what came out of her mouth really happened to be, "Uh. James? You're kind of squishing me."


	9. Detention

**_I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I've been working hard to try and update more often. Remember, the more reviews, the faster and longer each chapter will be!_**

* * *

Detention

Sirius and Emily were polishing trophies in the trophy room under the keen eye of the cranky caretaker, Filch as a detention. But Peeves had apparently broken something on the floor above them again. At least Filch thought it was Peeves. So with a quick bark towards their direction demanding they not go anywhere, just keep polishing and if he finds them an inch from where they should be when he got back, he wouldn't hesitate to string them um from the dungeon ceiling by their toenails.

Sirius threw down the rag he'd been using and stretched out, leaning against a passive stand for some school services award. He threw a grin at Emily. "This is the life, huh? We only have to be here until 11:00. Doesn't actually matter how much we do. Take a break." Not needing anymore prompting, Emily threw down her cleaning stuff as well, and sat next to him.

"Mmph." She agreed, leaning her head back, enjoying the moment of relaxation. _Who knew bending over shiny bits of metal for two hours could be so exhausting?_

"Hey Em?"

"What is it?" She turned to face him. _Wow. He is so cute today. . . ._

"Whats You're favorite color?"

"Uh. . .why?"

"Because I'm bored and I don't know what you're favorite color is." Sirius gave her look that just said, _"Hello. Isn't it obvious?"_

Emily twirled one of the blue streaks in her hair. "Do you have to ask?"

"Good point."

"What's your favorite food?" she asked, joining the little game.

"Peaches." Emily thought to her dress color. Sirius frowned. "Or cream puffs."

"Cream puffs?" Sirius shrugged.

"Favorite pet?"

Sirius answered easily. "Spider monkey."

"Are those even real? Be serious." Realizing what she said two seconds to late, Emily snorted at the over-used pun.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Like I haven't heard that one before. And I don't know if they exist. What's your favorite food?"

"You've already asked me."

"No. You asked me."

She bit her lip, considering the question. "Oh. Maybe. . . spaghetti?" Then her memory caught up with her. She grinned evilly. "No. That's not it. My favorite food is. . . potatoes."

Sirius shrunk back, eyes wide with mock horror. "Merlin Emily, give me nightmares why don't you?"

Emily froze, smile fading.

"Em? Is everything okay?"

"_Nightmare_," she whispered.

_Nightmare? Oh_. Sirius remembered how scared Emily had been. She'd been thrashing around that night she'd been asleep in the common room and he'd gone down to the common room to bring her a blanket. She'd told him about her strange dream. Not wanting to scare her, he hadn't mentioned that he'd been prompted to go downstairs to check on her, because he'd had the very same dream.

The creepy thing though, was that the shadow in his dream had looked rather close to his impression of this "Dark Lord" that his parents had been talking about lately when he went to visit them. They said he wanted to drive muggles into slavery, and muggle-borns out of Hogwarts. It had worried him a little, but he mostly brushed the so-called _lord _as some nutter with a superiority complex.

"It's okay, Em. I'm sure it was just a nightmare."

"Yeah," she said distractedly, "I'm sure you're right."

"Of course, " Sirius said, puffing out his chest. "Aren't I always?"

That made her laugh. Changing the subject back to their little game, she fired off her next question. "Favorite class?"

"Divination. Yours?"

Emily wrinkled her nose. "Eww. Why? And Charms."

"Because it's easy. Just make stuff up. Favorite sandwich?"

"Pickled, banana, and whipped cream. Best sandwhich ever."

Sirius gagged. "Gross, Emily!"

"It's delicious. Girl you most want to date?" Emily hoped she could catch him by surprise. She held her breath.

"You first. Which guy here are you most likely to date?" There. Now he wouldn't have to get laughed at when he told her that the girl he would most like to date was her.

_Deep breath. I can't believe he asked me that. Oh well. Honesty is the best policy._

Once again whispering, eyes staring forward at her the 1812 Quidditch Cup, "Sirius Black."

"What? I'm right here. Who is it?"

Her nerve failed her. "None of your business. I'm not going to share that!"

Before he could say anything in response, James and Remus burst in. "Come on, Filch is upstairs cleaning up dragon dung. We're here to rescue you. Let's go! Hurry!"

Sirius groaned at his friends timing. He offered a hand to Emily, pulling her up. He nodded at her, and with Remus and James, they ran from the trophy room.

* * *

Upstairs, Lily and Alana were eager for details. "What happened? Are you alive?"

"No," Lily said sarcastically, "she's dead. We're preparing for the funeral."

Alana rolled her eyes.

Emily sighed. She launched into an explanation of their conversation, smiling at Lily's annoyed huff when she got to the part about James' horrible timing. Alana just brushed it off that her boyfriend had interrupted at such a crucial time.

Before she said anything else though, Emily scfanned the room for her missing friend. "Where's Hannah?"


	10. Where's Hannah?

Back in time by three days or so. . . .

Hannah's POV

We(Lily, Emily, Alana, and I) were all in Hogsmeade, looking for dresses. Lily and Alana were both trying to help Emily with her dress, which left me on my own for mine. But as usual, I managed on my own, and soon I found the most perfect dress in the store. It's blue and floaty and beautiful. I love it. I hope Derrick likes it. Yes, I know I'm going to the dance with Sirius, but come on. I've already placed my bet with James, Remus, Lily, and Alana's on who will ask the other to dance and how far into the ball it will be. But they just don't know that yet, because they don't know what I've been planning yet. They all think I like Sirius. Um, no. Thanks, but no thanks. He's not my type. I like guys who are sweet, and responsible. Not a guy who's dated every girl with a nose job and a mini skirt. Actually though, to be fair, Sirius has never actually gone on a date. We all know this on account of that time he stole "Jamesie's Diary" and got all annoyed because James had gone on more dates than him(James:1, Sirius:0). That of course made James livid, because naturally Lily found out, and James thought that it would hurt his chances with her. But I guess it didn't since he's taking her to the dance. . . .

Soon we all met in the changing rooms. I think that They all looked way better than me, but I think we all think that about eachother. Oh well.

We got back, and Sunday was uneventful, and then came Monday. Sirius and Emily both got detention. I hope something happens, like they both realize they like eachother. It's so boring pretending I don't know they both are completely gaga for eachother. But at the same time, I hope they don't realize they like eachother, because I haven't actually announced my bet, meaning that even if I'm right, no money. Shame.

Present Time During Story. . . .

So, then I decided to go for a walk, and my favorite prefect and secret boyfriend was on patrol. . . . Next I knew, I was in a broom cupboard. Oh, well. If my plans work out, soon i won't be the only one of my friends who happens to end up in said cupboards.

I don't get it though. If teachers don't want students to be making out and stuff in the corridors and broom cupboards, why are there so many? I mean, how does that make sense, like, at all? Because to me, it doesn't.

So, I was nice and happy and everything. . . until James and Remus came along. Apparently Lily, Alana, and Emily were wondering where I was. I had just raised my wand when James slammed the door in my face. I turned back to Derrick again, but James tore open the door, AGAIN, now wairing a sign that said "**Do Not Hex the Messenger**" in messy boy handwriting. So instead of hexing him, I settled for a decent kick in the shins. To bad Lily wasn't there. James would be cowering with a single look. They are so dead! I grit my teeth and shoved past James.

* * *

"So. Who wants to play another round of _Where's Hannah_?" Lily glanced around. Emily was laying over a magazine, and Alana was bouncing a pink flamingo golf ball of the wall, and than catching it, and throwing, and so on.

"Kitchens?" Emily guessed, not even glancing up.

Alana offered, "Detention?" After pausing in her throw-catch routine(after catch, not after throw. No to-distracted-to-catch-golf-ball-so-it-hits-you-in-the-head-and-gives-you-a-concussion related injuries were acquired in the making of this story because it is so obviously fictional).

Emily and Lily both rolled on to their sides to look at Alana. She stared back and shrugged. "What? It's a guess."

"Hannah? Detention?" Lily said disbelievingly. She shook her head at Alana's obvious foolishness.

"Maybe she's off somewhere with Sirius." Emily said snidely.

Lily shot a warning glance in Emily's direction. But Alana half-agreed. "Or Derrick," she suggested.

Seeing her friends confusion, she added, "The Hufflepuff Hannah likes?" She looked around for some sign of recognition. A chorus of "Ohs" gave her the satisfaction.

Emily added a "Supposedly likes. . . ." to her Oh, and then Hannah burst through the door, looking pissed.

"Who sent James and Remus after me?!" She asked, eyes flashing.

Alana quickly pointed at Lily who, along with Emily, was pointing at her. Hannah turned towards her. "Uh-uh." Alana said in a panicky version of a soothing voice. "Don't blame this one on me. This one was all Lils."

Then Hannah turned to Lily, who fervently shook her head as Alana breathed a sigh of relief.

Emily was the one to finally break the blame-chain. "Does it matter? What exactly did the boys interrupt? That's what I want to know."

Hannah took a deep breath, calming herself down until she was no longer seeing red. "I was with a guy from Hufflepuff." She threw in a smile that practically dared them to ask questions.

Alana shot an I-told-you-so look at Emily. Emily stuck her tongue out.

Emily turned back to Hannah. "So, does this mean you're going with him to the dance instead of Sirius?" She held her breath.

Hannah looked thoughtful. She opened her mouth and shut it a few times before she had her answer. "I don't know. I guess I'd have to say. . . ."

* * *

Ooh! It's a cliffe! It's a cliffe! Hahahahahahaha! Review and Maybe I might put another chapter up tomorrow so you can find out what happens. . . .


	11. Research and a Picnic

**Chapter 11! Officially making this the longest story I've ever written, not just in word count, but chapter numbers as well! A new record for me, I'm so proud!**

* * *

Emily waved her hand in front of Lily's face impatiently. "Lil-ly? Lil-ly"

Lily smacked Emily's hand away, continuing to smile at someone over Emily's shoulder. Emily sighed impatiently and turned around. There was her cousin, grinning back. Not paying any attention to Emily, he pointed at her, then himself, and mouthed "picnic."

Lily nodded. Emily gagged. She grabbed her bag, eager to get away from the lovey-dovey couple.

Emily would have expected this from James, but sensible, down-to-Earth, hated-James'-guts-up-until-two-days-ago Lily? This was beyond random. Beyond insane. It was. . . indescribable. Weird came as close as Emily though she would get.

Without even realizing it, she'd managed to end up outside the library. Emily thought it was odd coincidence, though. She'd been wanting to research her dream, right. This was the perfect place. She sat down awkwardly at an empty table after collecting at least a half-dozen dusty, oversized text books on dreams and divination and prophecies.

"Great. I'm not turning into a seer, am I?" Emily asked herself, awknoledging the craziness of it all. She'd never taken divination. Lily wouldn't let her. She thought it was stupid and bizarre and kooky. Even though she calls me all that on a regular basis. . . . Emily thought. She opened up one of the huge books, coughing a little as some of the dust blew into the air. She flipped through at random until she found a section that looked promising.

_In times of danger for a magical being, a close relative of theirs may have prophetic dreams of the afore mentioned danger. Closeness here means both in blood, relationship, and magical prowess. These dreams have been reported irregularly through out magical history, the most prominent being the time Sandra Spidinsky claimed to have seen her older brother, Immian Spidinsky, suffer complete amnesia due to an attack by dark wizard Grindelwald, several days before it happened. The dreams have varied from specific and clear, to vague and cloudy, but when they come, they show themselves in steadily increasing amounts, reaching about 5 or 10 dreams, or even visions, on the day of the foreseen problem._

Emily slammed the book closed with surprising force after reading the passage out loud. "Well, that was a page turner." Emily whipped around in the direction of the dry voice, only to see Sirius leaning against a bookcase casually. "Now, that exactly did that mean?"

* * *

Lily grinned, excited. "Are we almost there yet?"

"Patience, Lils." James chided, gently. He grabbed her arm to keep her from tripping over yet another tree root.

"Sorry, _Jamesie_," Lily mocked. "But this blindfold itches!"

"Well, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if you knew where we were going, right?"

"Mmhhmm." It was obvious Lily was still sceptic of the blindfold.

He guided her the last few steps. "Ready?" James stepped behind her, untying the blindfold as a carefully as he could.

Lily gasped.

Before her were the gentle willows by the lake(as opposed to the vicious one that almost cost poor Dennis an eye!), which glittered in the light of the mid-day sun. A picnic blanket was spread out over the soft grass. On top of the blue fabric were all Lily's favorite foods. She was almost positive he'd asked Emily what she liked, since there was no way he could have known she liked pickles or pecan pie.

Lily sat down as gracefully as she could, given her excitement. "Do you like it?" James asked nervously.

"Of course! It's perfect!" Lily reassured him.

"Good."

Lily smiled. "Nope. Not good. Great."

* * *

**Please Review!**


	12. Research, continued

**Sorry it's short, but it's an update!**

* * *

"Sirius"

"Nah, Ol' Dippet in a much better looking body." Sirius arched an eyebrow. "What do you think"

_Definitely Sirius._ Emily rolled her eyes. "What do you want"

"A balloon," Sirius said, thoughtfully. "Maybe a hippogriff or a kitty. A new set of robes. You?"

"A million galleons. A cake. Chocalate frosting, marble, sprinkles a must. Now, why are you harassing me, Black?" She was starting to get fed up.

"Well, I was simply passing through, and I heard you reading out loud from that dusty old book. I heard it, but I don't get what it meant. It had something to do with your dream, right?"

Emily sighed in defeat. "Yes."

Sirius pulled a chair out from the table, positioning himself so he was facing her, his arms casually folded behind his head. "Care to share why it's bothering you?"

"It seemed so real. . . . "

"Did you ever consider maybe it seemed so real because it was?"

Emily stared at him.

He grinned, guessing her thoughts probably had something to do with sending him to the nearest psycologist. Sirius gently pried the book from her hands, rereading the passage to himself. "So, it would probably be about Jamesie or Evans, right? Close in relationship would be you and her, being besties, and what not. It also says that you being closely related to them. That could be Prongs, he is your cousin after all."

"You might be right. . . ." Emily said thoughtfully.

"Usually am."

She smacked his arm, he jumped back, laughing.

"But it wasn't very specific, right? So, how are we supposed to know what happens to them?"

"Come on Potter, do I have to come up with all the answers?"

"So, you have no idea?"

"Pretty much."

"Great."

"Well, you could always take a nap, and hope you get another one."

Emily shuddered in rememberance. "Yeah, 'cause that's a_ great_ thing to hoipe for."

"Tough. Come on, youy don't want your cousin and your bestie to have something horrible happen, right?"

"Of course not!"

"Well, than come on, your dream won't dream itself."

"Yeah, that sounded really stupid.

"Come on, lets just go, okay?"


	13. Dream Number Two

**Okay, you knew this was coming. Chapter 13 for The 500'th Anniversary! Yeah!**

* * *

Emily lay on her bed , blinking nervously. _Breath, Em, Breath_, she told herself. Dreaming was supposed to be easy, right? _So, deep breath, close your eyes, and drift away to dream land. Think happy thoughts, happy thoughts._

_Quidditch? There is that Comet 350 I want to get. . . . Maybe I can convince Jamesie's mum, Aunt Lila, to get it for me. She thinks it's funny when I beat James in a quidditch match._

_Hmm. More happy thoughts._

_Stealing the stuffed pig Sirius has? Ooh that could be fun! But I think Lily burned it. Heh, heh. Good times. _(See Gryffindor Gal's story, Sirius's Pig Puppet, it's hilarious!)

_Ooh, Sirius. Yeah, shirtless Sirius. _That's_ a happy thought._

And Emily finally drifted off to sleep, making mental notes to buy a bikini, and to convince Lily to ask her muggle parents if Emily and Sirius could use their pool.

_Just after Emily's eyes drifted closed and her breath evened out, her eyes snapped open, her breathing labored. She was surrounded by the snow. _It's just a drift,_ she told herself, and that was true. There was less than last time, definitely._

_She spun around, recognizing the tell tale flash of her shadowed visitor. "I won't play games!" Show yourself or get out of my head!"_

_"Who're you shouting at Emily?" Alana looked her friend up and down. Alana herself was wearing a parka-looking thing, and had linked her arm with Remus's. Remus managed to pry his gaze away from his watch long enough to agree with her._

_"Yeah, Emily. You're going crazy," he told her in a confidential tone, "I guarantee it."_

_"Much as I appreciate your concern, Remus," Emily's sugar sweet tone implied danger, "I am not my family crackpot. That would be one of your fellow Marauders, my dear cousin, Jamesie."_

_Alana giggled, Remus glared._

_"Anyway, what are you doing in my dream?"_

_"Dream? Are you sure you're okay, Em?"_

_"Yes. Stop questioning my sanity. Why are _you_ in _my_ dream?_

_"We're not," Remus eyed Emily warily. "We're going to the dance. By the way, Alana," he glanced down at his watch again, "we're going to be late."_

_"The dance? We're in the middle of a snow storm!" Emily was getting fed up with all the insanity._

_"No, we're not going to be late. And we're not in the middle of a snow storm! Look around, Em, tell us what you see." That was Alana, ever the voice of reason._

_Emily glanced to each side of her. To her astonishment, the snow had almost completely stopped. She could see vague figures in between the massive piles of snow around her._

_"Look down, Emily."_

_Emily did so. Beneath her fashionable shoes was a floor she recognized as belonging to the Great Hall._

_"What?"_

_She looked up. Alana and Remus had vanished. She whipped around, looking for where they had gone._

_A horrible sense of deja vu filled Emily._

_The last thing she saw before the dream disappeared was a dark grey shadow, rushing towards her as she screamed._

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**How was that for a cliff hanger? This chapter was more drama and suspense than I normally go with, but it is relevant to the plot. The shadow's identity will be revealed in the next dream, just in case you smart cookies out there haven't figured it out. Haha, which I'm sure you have. Not as long as it could be, but fanfiction just isn't my thing anymore. However, I'm attempting to finsh my stories before I go and abandon the fanfiction world.**


	14. Dream Number Three

Surrounded by forest and lake, home to magical beings, a castle stood. And as our story goes, there was a maiden in the tallest tower. Actually, second tallest. But whatever. In a four poster bed, fit for a princess, the decidedly non-royal Emily Potter woke up.

Equally terrifying to the first, her nightmare once again found her in the common room, as she walked down the stone steps, all the way to the crackling fire. She took a seat, and stayed in the same position, gazing into the flames, until a blanket settled around her shoulders. She turned her head to see Sirius , who cracked a smile at her. "Hey."

"Hey." she clutched the blanket tighter around her with icy fingers. The dream had scared her, with an effect similar to Dementors.

"I know how you feel. That sucked." He had decided it was time to tell her when the second dream occurred.

She looked curious for a second, but realization hit fairly quickly. "Oh." Then, "Yeah, it did."

They were both quiet for a while. Finally, "It was clearer this time. The _event_, or whatever, is closer."

"Yeah."

That was the end of the conversation. There wasn't much to say. They'd have to wait until the next dream if they wanted to know what was going to happen. They parted ways, each heading up to their own dormitory.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, they didn't have to wait long for the next dream. Emily had no sooner closed her eyes than she opened them, once again in a light drift of snow.

_She noted that their was only a few inches of snow, and no piles, on the floor of the Great Hall. In a circle around her, four feet or so in diameter, revealed that was still her location._

_"Hello?" she said cautiously. if the previous two dreams were in fact part of a pattern, the dream would have someone involved in the 'event' in it, a manifestation of the vision, not a onlooker like she was, and the shadow. She involuntarily shuddered at the thought of the cruel disembodied red eyes and malevolent air._

_A chuckle this time, as if the being could read her thoughts, sounded from behind her. Rather than turn and confront another mind game of hide-and-seek, she searched for someone she recognized._

_There! Hannah and Dereck walked hand in hand to where Emily was standing. "Em," Hannah giggled, "Where's your dress? You can't wair _jeans_ to a _ball_!"_

_Emily looked down. Sure enough, she was wairing muggle jeans, and a t-shirt. Huh._

_Looking up, her friends were gone. Oddly enough, the dreams seemed to be getting shorter as well. But whatever. Less BS was a plus in her book._

_And the shadow? She glanced around again. There? No. There? Nope. THERE? Typical. No._

_Finally, she something flickered in the distance. As the image cleared, Emily saw her friends, Alana, Remus, Hannah, Dereck. No Lily and James. But the other four didn't even see it._

It.

_The shadow rushing towards them, murder in it's eyes._

_Emily screamed._

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**Horrow. Ugh. So not my thing. Next chapter is the final dream, after that, the dance. I'm wrapping the story up, so expect more soon.**


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